Contempt of Court
Willful disobedience of a judge's command or of an official court order.
Continuance
Postponement of a legal proceeding to a later date.
Contract
A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties made either orally or in writing.
Contributory Negligence
A legal doctrine that says if the plaintiff in a civil action for negligence also was negligent, he or she cannot recover damages from the defendant for the defendant’s negligence. Most jurisdictions have abandoned the doctrine of contributory negligence in favor of comparative negligence.
Conviction
A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Corpus Delicti
Body of the crime. The objective proof that a crime has been committed. It sometimes refers to the body of the victim of a homicide or to the charred shell of a burned house, but the term has a broader meaning. For the state to introduce a confession or to convict the accused, it must prove a corpus delicti, that is, the occurrence of a specific injury or loss and a criminal act as the source of that particular injury or loss.
Corroborating Evidence
Supplementary evidence that tends to strengthen or confirm the initial evidence.
Counsel
Legal adviser; a term used to refer to lawyers in a case.
Counterclaim
A claim made by the defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff.
Court Administrator/Clerk of Court
An officer appointed by the court or elected to oversee the administrative, non-judicial activities of the court.